Friday, June 5, 2009

Crazy Plants and Animals on isolated Socotra Island

We all know the Galapagos Islands, right? They're really far away from anything else, and their plants and animals are bizarre, not to be found anywhere else on Earth.

Well, meet Socotra Island, plopped in the Indian Ocean and cut off from the nearest land for 18 million years or so. And yup, it's got bizarre plants and animals not to be found anywhere else. Check these out!

Dragon’s Blood tree, or Dracaena Tree.

Picture courtesy of www.latimes.com

Looks like something from a Super Mario Brothers video game, doesn't it? The name comes from a red resin that seeps from its bark when it is cut.

And here's Dorstenia gigas, which can grow to be 8 feet tall, and has exploding pods that fling its seeds several feet away.

Dorstenia gigas Photo from Flicker.com posted by jan_vandorpe

And Desert Rose, which is also called the Bottle Tree. Check out that trunk! It's used to store water in the dry climate.

Desert Rose; photo from latimes.com

Who knows what other isolated islands hold such creatures to be discovered!